PSD File grainy in AE

[zefrem7]

When I drag and drop a Photoshop file into After Effects the photos come in really grainy and the colours muted. Is there something I need to do in photoshop before I bring it into After Effects? Only other thing I can think to do is save each layer as a PNG then import those with Alpha. Thanks for any advice.

[Mylenium]

Without any info about your PSD and things like color management in PS and AE we can't tell you much. Simply sounds liek you are making a mess there in the first place by using a wrong color mode or having some odd CM settings. Start by ensuring that you're actually working in RGB and haven't assigend any custom profiles anywhere plus that your system is set up accordingly in terms of proof preview and all that. Also check for layer styles and otehr stuff that may affect appearance of layers. For anything more actual infdo and screenshots will be required to gauge the issue and advise.

Mylenium

[zefrem7]

Thanks for the response.

Photoshop is working in sRGB IEC61966-2.1, After Effects is working in REC 709 2.4. Initially when I brought my project in I hadn't created a 4K composition. The photoshop file just made its own. So, I re-did the comp, then brought in the photoshop file. That pretty much got rid of the grain. I'm assuming the colour difference is because AE is in REC709. I did an export test and it exported nicely without any colour or grain issues.

[Warren Heaton · Accepted solution]

Ideally, you want your color profiles to match.  If working in sRGB in AE, then work in sRGB in PS.  If working in Rec.709 Gamma 2.4 in AE, then work in Rec.709 Gamma 2.4 in PS.  To assign the Rec.709 Gamma 2.4 color profile in PS, choose Edit > Assign Profile... and then choose Rec.709 Gamma 2.4.

Another approach is start the PS file on the AE side choosing Layer > New > Photoshop File... or File > New > Adobe Photoshop File... (the resulting PSD will be set to the current Color setting in the After Effects project file.

You probably want your computer display to be calibrated for Rec.709 Gamma 2.4 as well.

[zefrem7]

Awesome, thanks for the advice!